Benoit (book)

Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport
Cover
AuthorsHeath McCoy
Greg Oliver
Steven Johnson
Irvin Muchnick
LanguageEnglish
SubjectProfessional wrestling, murder, suicide, concussion, steroids, death, journalism[1]
GenreBiography
Published2007
PublisherECW Press
Publication placeCanada
Media typeHardcover and paperback
Pages180[2]
ISBN1550228129

Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport is a 2007 non-fiction book co-written by sports journalists Heath McCoy, Greg Oliver, Steven Johnson, and Irvin Muchnick. about the Canadian professional wrestler Chris Benoit and his murder-suicide of his family. It consists of four essays, one by each author, about Benoit, his wife Nancy and their 7-year-old son Daniel, their deaths, and the aftermath of the murders. The book was released by the Canadian publisher ECW Press in October 2007.

Publication history

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The book was released in October 2007 and include an introduction which is followed by four essays that each discuss the subject from a distinct perspective.[3][4][5][6]

  • The media's coverage of the story and the role of the media in the story itself is covered first by Steven Johnson, investigative reporter.[4][6] His essay was named "Roids, Reporters, and Rasslin': Anatomy of a Feeding Frenzy".[7]
  • Heath McCoy looks over the facts of the case and examines Benoit's Alberta wrestling roots in Stampede Wrestling with the Hart family.[4][6] His essay was titled "Stampede Days: A Crippler on the Rise".[7]
  • Irvin Muchnick gives his opinion on the pop-cultural relevance and the place of this tragedy in the history of professional wrestling.[4][6] His essay was named "Day of the Dead".[7]
  • Greg Oliver discusses the Benoit story in the context of the professional wrestling industry and personal correspondence with Benoit.[4][6]

To advertise the book Oliver went on Entertainment Tonight Canada and McCoy went on Live Audio Wrestling to be interviewed.[8]

Reception

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Pre-orders of the book establish it as one of the 400 top-ranked sellers at Amazon Canada by September 26. Interest was mainly fueled by the two-part interview with co-author Greg Oliver the same week on the Canadian edition of Entertainment Tonight.[9] By May 2008 it was the number one book on Amazon.ca's wrestling category.[10]

Shaun Smith of Quill & Quire stated that Muchnick finished the book with a "gem", feeling that his segment assembled the facts but let the reader connect the dots.[11] Mike Jenkinson of SLAM! Wrestling expressed that he was leery when approaching the book, worrying that it would be a "rush job" but that it was far better than he expected it to be even with many faults.[12] Bryan Dykens of the Online World of Wrestling gave the book a score of 8/10 and expressed that the book told the story of the Benoit tragedy as straightforward as it had ever been told.[13] Patrick Hickey Jr. of Reviewfix felt that the book was a satisfying read by featuring "a near perfect blend of commentary, journalism and nostalgia" and that it is a quick read that any serious wrestling fan should take a look at.[14]

The book was nominated for Best Pro Wrestling Book at the 2008 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ Cohen, Eric (September 26, 2017). "Benoit Family Double Murder-Suicide: A decade has not diminished the shadow the event casts over pro wrestling". ThoughtCo. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  2. ^ "Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport". Cagematch.net. CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  3. ^ "More Benoit Books in the works". Wrestling News Source. July 30, 2007. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Canadian publisher announces the publication of Chris Benoit book". Newswire.ca. CNW Group. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  5. ^ Cosh, George (August 1, 2007). "Book of essays under way on wrestler Chris Benoit". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  6. ^ a b c d e McEvoy, Dermot (July 25, 2007). "First Benoit Book Out from ECW in October". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  7. ^ a b c Dykens, Brad (October 2, 2007). "Press Release for new book about Benoit". OnlineWorldOfWrestling. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  8. ^ Staff (September 24, 2007). "ARCHIVE 9/24/07: 'BENOIT' co-author Oliver on ET Canada". Concussion Inc. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  9. ^ Staff (September 26, 2007). "ARCHIVE 9/26/07: BENOIT Ships; Huge Canadian Pre-Orders". Concussion Inc. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  10. ^ Clark, Ryan (May 22, 2008). "Dateline NBC To Do Major Benoit/WWE Story, More Benoit News". Wrestling Inc. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  11. ^ Smith, Shaun (December 1, 2007). "Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport". Quill & Quire. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  12. ^ Jenkinson, Mike (October 19, 2007). "Quickie Benoit book hits -- and misses". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  13. ^ Dykens, Brad (October 7, 2007). "BENOIT "Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport" Essays by Steven Johnson, Heath McCoy, Irvin Muchnick, & Greg Oliver". OnlineWorldOfWrestling. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  14. ^ Hickey Jr., Patrick (August 3, 2010). "Wrasslin' Pundits Share Thoughts in 'Benoit'". Reviewfix. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  15. ^ "411Mania".
  16. ^ "canadianbulldog | Benoit". www.canadianbulldogsworld.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-11.
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